Remember this?

Sez Booman, it’s really not that bad once you learn to submit:

Barack Obama knew better than to rely on the existing infrastructure, created by the blogosphere, to fight back against the Bush administration and the media. We are too stridently partisan to be messengers of a new kind of politics. He had to step around the gatekeepers of the blogosphere, much to their chagrin. Barack Obama’s greatest accomplishment is the organization that he created. He used our tools and his own message. And he won. He could not have won any other way. And that makes him both our greatest representative, and someone who doesn’t really need us at all. All of you should go join up on his website and meet your neighbors that are supporting him, and get organized. For presidential stuff, there is no reason to use the blogosphere at all. Use Obama’s own tools.

Dear God. I’ve held back on the Obama cult accusations for a while now; many of my friends and family support him. But Booman… wtf? I don’t even know where to begin with this. It is the Borg. No, wait, it’s the Heaven’s Gate cultists leaving behind their earthly bodies to merge with the higher consciousness.

Actually, I’ve got it! It’s like in the Matrix, where the humans created the machines and then after they fought it out the machines kept the humans alive as tiny generators, feeding them the liquified remains of their brethren.

Not because they had to. Not because we even deserved it, as strident and partisan as we were. But because they’re merciful!

So, come on, everyone. Leave your individual thoughts behind. Take the blue pill and relax. Ignorance is bliss!

Perhaps. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area there are a couple of upcoming opportunities to explore the subject: a BARBARian drinkfest Saturday, April 12 in Bezerkeley and a first time Bay Area SadlyNo fest in Our Fair City tentatively scheduled for Friday, April 18. After all, movements are made up of strangers who get to know each other.

I’m sure this may come as a shock to you, but military is hiring bloggers to work as moles, “verbally attack[ing] specific person[s] or promot[ing] a specific message.”

Wait, sorry, wrong link.

Here’s the article.  Read more 

What the fuck? What the hell kind of chicken shit outfit are they running in Dallas? This is one Kennedy analogy we really don’t need. If you don’t know how to properly secure a venue, call me. Jack Douglas of the Star Telegram:

Security details at Barack Obama’s rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena. The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.
Link

Come on protect the man!!

Was just perusing CNN.com, and this particular set of candidate mugshots jumped out at me. How about you?

Notice anything curious?  Read more 

Map via link to this article via comment by intranets.

What the data shows is that the candidates’ Web sites are not linking to influential political blogs and the blogs are not linking back to the candidates’ Web sites.

“When the candidates campaign in real life, they go to rallies and schools where people are,” says Anthony Hamelle, vp of RTGI. “But on the Internet, they wait for people to come to them and that doesn’t work. Online, you have to go where people are and you have to meet people.”

And:  Read more 

“Phat” is a great word, you can use it in so many fun ways, even little kids can say it (that’s actually really cute when it happens). Many fine things are Phat: blunts, cars, clothes, people’s backsides. But what comes to your mind when I say heavy?

Company spokesman Alex Dudley said the trial was aimed at improving the network performance goddess don’t you just want to barf? when have they ever ’improved’ service? by making it more costly for heavy users of large downloads. Dudley said that a small group of super-heavy users of downloads, around 5 percent of the customer base, can account for up to 50 percent of network capacity.
Dudley said he did not know what the pricing tiers would be nor the download limits. He said the heavy users were likely using the network to download large amounts of video, most likely in high definition.

I was just looking at some photos of two people that we talk about here all the time. And I thought, “no, those are too good.” But perhaps I was wrong, and they really did suggest what I thought they were suggesting. Time will tell. Either way, “hi res” and “heavy” downloading serve more purposes than just getting instant copies of “The Green Door.”

“Heavy” is one of those evil corporate terms and we should squash it now.  Read more 

I love lists. I make them, I read them, I collect them…the ACLU made a list for 2007 your should read:

2007: The Year We Didn’t Get Our Freedoms Back

Top 10 ways our government failed us:

1. Not putting an end to warrantless NSA spying. Congress instead has continued to let the NSA spy without warrants and is considering letting the telephone companies off the hook for spying on Americans illegally. The Senate debated FISA last month before the holiday recess, and in a gift to the American people, legislation that would have forgiven telecom companies for spying on their customers and given the NSA more freedom to spy on Americans was not voted on. Congress is expected to take up the legislation when members return later in January.

2. Not repealing the Military Commissions Act or restoring habeas corpus. Despite a valiant effort and near success, an amendment to restore habeas corpus received 56 votes when it needed 60 votes. The support in the Senate indicates that legislation to fix the Military Commissions Act could pass. The Supreme Court will also issue a decision in 2008 regarding habeas corpus.

3. Not closing the Guantanamo Bay Prison. January 11 marks the sixth anniversary of the arrival of prisoners to Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners have been held without habeas corpus rights for six years. The ACLU is organizing people across America to wear orange that day in recognition of the shame the prison has caused for all of us.

The number of inmates shrank this year to 355, having started at over 700; officials expect the prison to close one way or another in 2008. But Guantanamo’s closing will not necessarily mean the end of holding prisoners without due process, especially if the Military Commissions Act is still in place.

4. Not giving due process to immigrants and denying life-saving health care in immigration detention facilities. Although the comprehensive immigration reform bill ultimately failed, even that legislation would not have given immigrants badly needed basic due process rights. Congress failed to pass legislation this year securing those basic human rights for immigrants.

5. Allowing the CIA to destroy interrogation tapes.  Read more 

Filipino Monkey

my baby was crying the other night
she lay still just like a stone
she said ’honey, I will get you’
but the voice was not her own

I looked underneath the bed
I looked around the door
I looked every damn place I could
until I couldn’t look no more

but when it was time for loving
she made just like a junkie
she said she had a new lover
the filipino monkey

filipino monkey
took my baby away
filipino monkey
laughing in the bay
come and get me, monkey
come right out and play
but there was only laughter
the filipino monkey way

I joined up in the Navy
to see the seven seas
headed over to Hormuz
got a new pair of jet skis  Read more 

Now, I would not go so far as to say ’Hillary stole NH.’ I don’t have any evidence for that at all. But gosh! AT isn’t exactly a foil-lover’s CT rag, now is it? cautiously eyes lambert Perhaps this guy is about to get nothing but egg on his face, it’s still an interesting read.

The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office has announced that they’ll be doing a statewide recount of the primary’s results, citing the Internet controversy (see below) over the results.  Read more 

So I got this email from a friend:

DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas asked us to forward this message to everyone
we know in Michigan. If you’d like to comment on this plan, visit:
Dear Michigan Friend,

We’re not going to beat around the Bush. If you want to help make mischief for
the Republican Party - and bolster the Democrats’ chances for taking the White
House this November - read on!

Are you a Democrat or independent registered to vote in Michigan? If you are,
vote for Mitt Romney in the Republican primary on Tuesday, January 15th!

Do you know any Democrats or independents in Michigan? If yo u do, encourage them
to vote for Mitt Romney in the Republican primary on Tuesday, January 15th!

…

To which I sent this reply:  Read more 

To bed, silly people! But:

As I’ve been reading and posting here today, no fewer than three military (trust me, I know the sound) helicopters have flown over my staid, quiet suburb of a not-politically important stretch of burb.

I can’t help but wonder: it’s all on my tab, no? That is, what does it cost to suspend a 0000000$ military helicopter presence over my head, my neighbors’ heads, this night? Every night? And at the cost of what else?

Universal health care, flying over my head and spit out without any effect other than enriching those who make machinery. And who hate me, and want to see me dead/jailed/silenced. There is little that is a stronger reminder- I have no guns, I’ve killed no one, I’m at peace with my community. And yet- armed forces are required to keep the peace between me and my neighbors? I think not.

Fear. They have nothing else. Don’t give in.

C’mon, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t post this. So I guess a lot of folks are wiping egg off their faces this morning? Heh. I have no real insight into “what the results mean,” except to say Never Count Hillary Out. For a lot of reasons. Our good friend Brad continues on his one man crusade to document the irregularities of videopoker voting. Just keep it in mind, OK? He has no evidence of wrong doing at this time, but on the other hand it’s too early to know for sure and the crusaders haven’t had a chance to compare hand counted totals with machine totals. They will be doing so soon.

The point is that there are many reasons for an 8-point turnaround such as the one Clinton got last night. Could be that pollsters were push-polling to get the results they wanted. Could be women responded to “crying Hillary” and felt motivated to come to her defense. Could be that white voters lied about their willingness to vote for a black man. Could be that Hillary’s campaign is way more effective than some suspected, while Obama’s is weaker than those same folks have been saying.

Bottom line: 8 points is a huge margin, statistically speaking. It’s worth examining, in excruciating detail and with an open and critical mind. I don’t expect the SCLM to do so, indeed I’m sure the only thing we’ll get from them is more mythical narratives that have nothing to do with reality and everything to do with Village-speak. But for the foily among us, keeping an eye on machine results is never a bad idea.

Since we’re talking about Obama. I couldn’t figure out why my spidey sense won’t let me accept this. I ask my self Xenophon, old boy, is this just hateration?? To which my self responds in true Chicago fashion, that motherfucker couldn’t beat Bobby Rush. And the number one law in Chicago is we can always take this shit to the streets. Capone, Daley, Washington, Hampton, Hoover, Fort, Jones, Rostenkowski, Emmanuelle all great Chicago politicians have a touch of the streets. Not Obama. Why couldn’t a Columbia, Harvard educated (He never mentions Charles Hamilton Houston, hmmm) law professor beat a mumble mouthed COINTELPRO refugee?  Read more 

Yes, of course it’s true. It’s on the internets! And her foes are using it to spread rumors about her!

You see how I did that? It’s a neat trick, huh? Now, as the rules of second-hand prestidigitation require, I’ll tell you where I learned it.

From this abomination on Page 1 of the WaHo.

Foes Use Obama’s Muslim Ties [sic] (Wouldn’t “scare quotes” have been appropriate here? - scar) to Fuel Rumors About Him

By Perry Bacon Jr.

In his speeches and often on the Internet, the part of Sen. Barack Obama’s biography that gets the most attention is not his race but his connections to the Muslim world.

Since declaring his candidacy for president in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to address assertions that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10. While his father was an atheist and his mother did not practice religion, Obama’s stepfather did occasionally attend services at a mosque there.

Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet continue to allege that Obama (D-Ill.) is a Muslim, a “Muslim plant” in a conspiracy against America, and that, if elected president, he would take the oath of office using a Koran, rather than a Bible, as did Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the only Muslim in Congress, when he was sworn in earlier this year. […]

The rumors about Obama have been echoed on Internet message boards and chain e-mails.

In case you’re wondering, that last part is the one sentence in the article that could be remotely construed as reality-based. All the rest is devoted to verbatim, 1996-vintage, tenth-generation inbred wingnut chain mail about how “HILLARY OBAMA is going to force EVERYONE to become a LESBIAN! MUSLIM!”

Anyway, if you’ve heard any facts that foes of Deborah Howell (or any other WaHo employee) are using to fuel rumors about them, please feel free to post them here, or on the WaHo’s site. After all…  Read more 

Get a load of this:

The head of the federal agency investigating Karl Rove’s White House political operation is facing allegations that he improperly deleted computer files during another probe, using a private computer-help company, Geeks on Call.

Scott Bloch runs the Office of Special Counsel, an agency charged with protecting government whistleblowers and enforcing a ban on federal employees engaging in partisan political activity. Mr. Bloch’s agency is looking into whether Mr. Rove and other White House officials used government agencies to help re-elect Republicans in 2006.

At the same time, Mr. Bloch has himself been under investigation since 2005. At the direction of the White House, the federal Office of Personnel Management’s inspector general is looking into claims that Mr. Bloch improperly retaliated against employees and dismissed whistleblower cases without adequate examination.

Recently, investigators learned that Mr. Bloch erased all the files on his office personal computer late last year. They are now trying to determine whether the deletions were improper or part of a cover-up, lawyers close to the case said.

So, to recap: Karl Rove is accused of retaliating against employees and then illegally deleting the evidence. The man in charge of investigating him is accused of retaliating against employees and then deleting evidence.

Fuck. This. Shit.

Wait, though, it gets better!  Read more 

A friend sent me an email this morning:

The Administration is timing results in Iraq to best influence results in 2008 elections. They have paid members of the Iraqi Parliament to delay development of a government and have made closed-door deals with various factions. Look for gradual developments towards resolutions to be parceled out starting in March. Throughout the Spring and Summer, a variety of already scripted announcements will be unveiled and will lead to some kind of reasonably stable arrangement in Iraq. Democrats will be placed in a very difficult situation and Mike Huckabee will be the next president. Also, oil prices will drop back to $50-60 a barrel.

You heard it here first…  Read more 

Via Froomkin:

Why is it taking White House officials so long to restore millions of deleted e-mails from the backup tapes they claim to have?  Read more 

I am not a techie and I have no idea if this is a good or bad idea. Your thoughts? From the Globe:

“The Whois database is in fact the best, most well-recognized tool that we have to be able to track down who in fact you are doing business with,” said Bohannon, the trade group’s general counsel, adding that alternatives such as issuing subpoenas to service providers take more time and cost money.

Nonetheless, some privacy advocates are proposing scrapping the system entirely because they can’t agree with the people who use the system on how to give domain name owners more options when they register — such as designating third-party agents. Privacy advocates say individuals shouldn’t have to reveal personal information simply to have a Web site.  Read more 

I’m with Kevin Drum and Jim Henley in their befuddlement that this story, reported over the weekend, has kicked up so little dust.

Kevin brought it to my attention with a short post to that effect, one of the reasons he is invaluable. Others, like Jim, are beginning to pick up on it, and Mr. Henley supplies some fascinating background. With a story like this, the more the merrier; we need to get it noticed by the village, and the name, “Hagazy,” as well known as “Hamden.”

One reason it hasn’t broken big, a small blogger reported it, and yes, reported is the operative word, just like a real journalist. The “small” describes only the probable stats of the blog, “Psychsound,” not the blogger, Steve Bergstein, a lawyer with two blogs, both of them involved in this story. The other reason is that the village elders are quite uninterested in pursuing evidence that Bush & co is running one of the most corrupt and unlawful administrations in our history.

In fact, Bergstein, whose other blog, “Wait A Second,” tracks and analyzes the civil rights decisions that come out of the the Second Circuit Federal Appeals Court located in Manhattan, became involved in the story itself, by catching while it was happening, an act of censorship being practiced on the written decision itself, a redaction of a large portion in the name of protecting our national security.

Yeah, I suppose that could be said to compute, if you think that every dumb thing any part of your government does, like, for instance, how the FBI got a false confession from a visiting Egyptian, that he was part of the 9/11 conspiracy, who was ultimately proven to be innocent of owning the suspicious device found in the closet of his hotel room, needs to be shielded from scrutiny because otherwise the terrorists will win. Hint: They didn’t get the confession with a decoder ring, knowledge of which could allow Al Queda to profit from our technology.  Read more 

Let’s have a Free for all post. Jeralyn is ticked off, because a judge punishing a reporter who broke the law wants her to do a public interest story as penance. Is this wrong? A bad idea? Why, or why not? Lambert reminds us that B and C (blog) listers aren’t really “journalists.” Is that a good thing, in light of this case? Meanwhile, journalism is becoming more and more akin to state sanctioned observation and data mining. Again- we want to protect these people?  Read more